Plantation Nostalgia

Today I took my mom and my aunt to Hawaii's Plantation Village in Waipahu. There is a 20-minute video about some of the basics about sugar plantation life in Hawai'i and there is a small, but packed museum. A volunteer takes you through the museum as well as the "Village." It is not a typical Village, which would generally only have been made up of one ethnic group (i.e., only Japanese or only Korean, etc.), but a sampling of each type of house that could be found between 1900 and the late 1930s. They also show the Portuguese outdoor oven to make bread, a Japanese tofu-ya to make tofu, the Plantation Store and even a little replica of a Saimin Stand.

It was a long tour (about 2 hours). Our guide was a really nice man, but he was kind of slow talking and so the tempo of the tour tended to drag. It was really interesting, though. I did not realize that most of the Korean immigrants came to escape religious persecution; they wanted to practice Christianity. The Japanese came to make their fortune and planned (originally) to return back to Japan. The Portuguese on the other hand, came with their families planning to settle and raise the next generation in Hawai'i. The Japanese bachelors here were apparently a rowdy bunch that would drink and fight a lot. In order to "control" them, the Plantation owners got them to bring women over...in the form of picture brides. The Chinese were the first to come over (about 16 years before the next group, the Japanese). Again, mostly men came, so they started marrying the Hawaiian women. No wonder the Hawaiian and Chinese combination is so prevalent.

It was nice spending time with my mom and my aunt. It was also a little sad, too. They're getting old. Slowing down. In fact, another aunt was supposed to come out with us today, but she decided not to because she was not feeling up to it. My mom said that aunt (who is older than them) would not have lasted during that 2-hour walking tour anyway. My mom is still really mobile and active, but my aunt is losing her sight and has a more difficult time getting around.

I love tagging along with my mom and my aunties. I enjoy hearing their stories, hearing them laugh...and of course, they would always pay for everything. Heh. It was an endless source of amusement for me when my mom and aunties would go out. Those little asian ladies would have ninja-fast reflexes any time a bill would come. They're all talking, then the waiter would bring the bill to the table. Woosh! Hands would just start flying, seeing who could pick up the bill first. After establishing physical prowess, the "winner" would have to withstand the psychological and verbal assault that would immediately ensue.

"It's my turn! You paid last time."
"No, I didn't. It is my turn now, remember?"
"No, no, no! We always go through this. It is my turn, because..."

Only the strong would survive.

Now, they are a little slower physically, but they make up for it in craftiness. I noticed the planning occurred even before the day of our outing. My mom gave me money before we got to the Plantation Village to pay for our entrance fees, feeling my youth gave me an advantage to whip out my wallet and pay before my aunt would know what was going on. It worked. But somehow during the tour, my aunt convinced my mom she was going to pay for lunch, and it was all decided before we even chose at which restaurant we would dine. Older means craftier and working more through diplomatic channels.

Sigh. To my mom and aunty: Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys again. It was a wonderful way to spend my vacation day. I hope there are many more days we can spend together and I can listen to you tell stories, laugh and scold each other.